10 Simple Tricks to Generate More Inbound Leads

Inbound marketing is a complex process. You have to build a website designed for conversions, along with the content that actually draws in your audience. But once you have the basic structure in place, it can be deceptively simple.

In fact, like a well-oiled machine, only a few tweaks can help you optimize your marketing for conversions and increase the inbound leads in your database. These 10 simple tricks help to maximize your lead generation, almost with the simple push of a button.

1) ABC – Always Be Closing

The old sales mantra applies to inbound marketing, as well. Everything you do digitally should be done with conversion in mind. For every piece of content, from email to blog post, offer a natural next step that leads to a sign up form on a landing page. Ideally, that call to action should come in the form of a clear button that outlines exactly what your audience can get from taking that conversion step.

2) Stay Away From Diverting Attention

Ever heard of attention ratio? The concept states that the more option your audience has, the less likely they will be to chose the one you want. To maximize your lead generation, keep the next step to one call to action: the desired lead conversion. Some marketers even go so far as to remove the navigation from landing pages, specifically driving the audience toward their one key conversion goal.

3) Incorporate Social Proof Wherever You Can

Shocker: your prospective leads find arguments from their peers more convincing than yours. In fact, 84% of your audience trusts online reviews from complete strangers as much as personal recommendations. That makes social proof an invaluable tool in your box. From user reviews to testimonials and case studies, be sure that all conversion-oriented content incorporates at least some third-party validation.

4) Push Great Content With Paid Ads

Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile to make sure that your audience sees your best-performing content. Paid ads on like promoted content on social media and search ads Google help you increase visibility, which in turn will lead to better lead generation. If the content itself is great, even visitors from paid efforts will start to share your musings and increase the organic reach of your brand and conversion goals.

5) Keep Your Conversion Content Long…

According to one study, the best conversion-focused content (such as a blog post) is 1,600 words long. Another found that the average length of content in the top 3 Google results approaches 2,500 words. Don’t skimp out with short content; instead, give your audience a comprehensive taste on what a lead conversion might give them.

6) … And Your Promotions Short

Of course, the opposite is true for the posts designed to promote your conversion content. Facebook may not have a character limit, but the ideal length of content is still only 40 characters. Even an email should only be between 50 and 125 words long. The key to success for conversions might be to go long, but promoting that long-form content has to be short and sweet.

7) Make it Personal

At this point, would you be shocked to hear that more personalized marketing will increase audience goodwill and result in more lead conversions? Probably not. But it remains as true as ever. personalized emails, custom social media targeting with a more focused message, and even personalized, ‘smart’ web content all lead to significant conversion increases.

8) Listen to Audience Feedback

Sometimes, optimizing your lead generation is as simple as listening to your audience. If you can offer the content they’re looking for, or answer more general questions they have, they’ll naturally become more likely to read what you have to say. You can gather that type of audience feedback through standardized surveys, but don’t underestimate the impact of simply mining your blog comments and engaging in social listening.

9) Visual is Key

It’s almost too simple to be true. But it’s true nonetheless: adding any type of visual to your content marketing efforts is an almost surefire way to increase lead conversions. Our eyes are inherently drawn toward these visuals, which is probably why images, video, and infographics continue to be such effective marketing tools. Anytime you publish content, from a blog post to a Tweet or an email, be sure you include unique and interesting visuals designed to draw in your audience.

10) Keep Making Those Tweaks

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of continuous improvement in your inbound marketing efforts. As successful as the above tips may be, there is probably still another level you can get to with just minor tweaks. From improving your subject lines to making changes to your publishing schedule, these changes can be subtle. Find the best changes to make using A/B testing, continually looking to improve your messaging in a way that maximizes conversions.

Building an Inbound Marketing Strategy Designed to Succeed Long-Term

Implementing a successful inbound marketing strategy is complex, but comes with potentially immense benefits. Unlocking those benefits may seem like a mammoth tasks but in fact, a few simple tips and tricks can keep you on the pathway to success. None of the above tips takes significant time or budget to implement. The impact on lead generation and potential ROI, on the other hand, are significant.

If you are looking for help in jump starting your inbound marketing efforts, or are completely new to the concept and don’t know where to start, check out our training library.

You can take a variety of courses designed to increase your digital marketing knowledge, helping you succeed both now and in the future. Contact us to get started.

Joanne is a digital marketing and social media consultant, trainer and international speaker. She is currently working on her second social media book and holds 11 professional and academic qualifications, including a Masters Degree in Journalism and a Masters Degree in Digital Marketing. Joanne loves to empower her clients with knowledge and skills to equip them in the digital age. Be sure to follow her tweets @tweetsbyJSB.